Apparatus for forming inclined bores



1969 w. H. HAMILTON ETAL 3,486,572

APPARATUS'FOR FORMING INCLINE'D' BORES Filed Feb. 28, 1967 4Sheets-Sheet 1 a ax INVENTORS WILL/AM H. HAMILTON RICHARD J. ALLYN Dw1969 w. H. HAMILTON ETAL 3,486, 7

APPARATUS FOR FORMING INCLINED' BORES Filed Feb. 28, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet2 TO'RS FIG. 2 WILLIAM H. HAMILTON RICHARD J. ALLYN 1959 w. H. HAMILTONETAL 3,486,572

APPARATUS FOR FORMING INCLINED BORES Filed Feb. 28, 1967 4 ShGQbSShGGt 5FIG. 2B

QZA] INVENTORS WILL/AM H. HAMILTON RICHARD J. ALLYN Dec. 30, 1969 HHAMILTON ETAL 3, 2 v

I APPARATUS FOR FORMING INCLINED' BORES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 281967 WILL/AM H. HAMILTON RICHARD .J. ALLYN United States Patent3,486,572 APPARATUS FOR FORMING INCLINED BORES William H. Hamilton,Seattle, and Richard J. Allyn, Bellevue, Wash., assignors to LawrenceManufacturing Company, Seattle, Wash., a corporation of Delaware FiledFeb. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 619,422 Int. Cl. E21b 3/12; E21c 23/00; E21d3/00 US. Cl. 17553 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus forforming relatively large diameter bores inclined substantially from thehorizontal, comprising a support anchorable in an inclined main bore, abore forming assembly axially movable relative to the support andincluding a rotatably driven cutter assembly, and a pilot assemblyanchorable in an inclined pilot bore forwardly of the main bore, whereinmotor means are provided for axially moving the bore forming assemblyand simultaneously exerting a clamping force on the support'anchoringmeans. Also, a stepped starting support for supporting the apparatusduring its initiation of a bore.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to miningapparatus and has more particular reference to mining apparatus of thetype adapted for forming relatively large diameter bores and tunnels.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved boring apparatus which is particularly constructed and arrangedfor forming relatively large diameter bores which are inclinedsubstantially from the horizontal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aforegoing object, and those other objectsand advantages of the invention which will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, are attained by the provision of a boring apparatus, whichgenerally considered may comprise a support, a power driven bore formingassembly forwardly of the support for axial movement relative to thesupport and including a cutter assembly mounted for rotatable movement,and means for rotating the cutter assembly. The support, is providedwith means operable to anchor the support in a main bore which isinclined substantially from the horizontal; and motor means areconnected to the bore forming assembly and to the support for axiallymoving the bore forming assembly relative to the support andsimultaneously exerting a force for actuating the support anchoring=means. A pilot assembly connected to the support for axial movementrelative thereto projects forwardly of the cutter assembly into asmaller pilot bore formed in advance of the cutter assembly. A means,actuatable for anchoring the pilot assembly in the pilot bore, may beprovided for this purpose; and a means may be provided for actuatingthis pilot assembly anchoring means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view showinga boring apparatus in operative position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational View, partially broken away and insection, of the upper protion of the boring apparatus;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged elevational view, partially broken away and insection. illustrating the portion of the boring apparatus below line AAof FIG. 2;

3,486,572 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 starting support for the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly tothe drawings wherein similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates aboring apparatus designated generally as 10 which is in the process offorming a relatively large diameter, vertical main bore or hole 12 toconnect a lower horizontal shaft 14 with an upper horizontal shaft 16.Apparatus 10 is suspended by a wire rope or cable 22 which extends froma hoist 18, over pulley 17 and downwardly through a preformed, verticalpilot bore 24. The operation of the hoist 18 is controlled by anoperator through a control panel 26 and a control line 28 connected tothe hoist 18. If desired, the hoist may be located in shaft 14,eliminating the need for control line 28, in which event the rope 22would extend from the hoist around a pulley (not shown) below bore 12 upthrough the holes 12 and 24, over the pulley 17 and thence back toapparatus 10. A receiving hopper 30, supported by a framework 32,vertically below the main bore 12 directs material removed by the boringapparatus 10 into a mine car 34.

The boring apparatus 10 comprises a support 36, a power driven boreforming assembly 38 forwardly of the Support 36, and a pilot assembly40, coaxial with an connected to the support 36 which projects coaxiallyforwardly of the bore forming assembly 38. The support 36 includes therearward or lower end of a generally tubular casing assembly 42 whichslidably supports an annular mounting flange 46, extends through thebore forming assembly 38, and at its forward or upper end forms aportion of the pilot assembly 40. The casing assembly 42 rigidly carriesa flange 48 having three equally spaced arms, each connected by alinkage system, designated generally as 52, to an anchor pad 54 of thesupport 36. The anchors 54 are each formed with an outer periphery 56 ofarcuate configuration adapted to bear against the walls of the main bore12 to anchor the support 36 in fixed position and are three in number.

The linkage systems 52, more specifically, for each pad, comprise a pairof generally triangular first links 58 each pivotally connected at oneof its apexes to the flange 48, a single link 60 pivotally, connected tothe mounting flange 46 and by a common pivot shaft 61 to a second of theapexes of each of the first links 58, and a third pair of links 62 eachpivotally connected at one end to the other of the apexes of theassociated links 58 and at the other end to the opposite upper ends of aroughly rectangular box shaped fourth link 64. The fourth link 64 ispivotally connected, intermediate its upper and lower ends by a pivotpin 65 to the anchor pad 54 through a pair of spaced lugs 67. The lowerend of the link 64 is pivotally connected to a mounting plate 66 affixedto the flange 48. In addition, a hydraulic motor 68, comprising acylinder 70, pivotally connected to the mounting flange 46, and a piston72, pivotally connected to the flange 48, is provided for each of theanchors 54. The hydraulic motors 68, as will be understood, serve. tocause relative movement between the flange arms 48 and the mountingflange 46 to thereby cause the linkage system 52 to urge the pads 54into and out of engagement with the walls of the main bore 12.

The bore forming assembly 38 comprises a generally tubular casing 74,being of smaller diameter at its lower end, which is axially movablerelative to the aforedescribed support 36. The casing 74 carries arotatable cutter assembly, designated generally as 76, which comprises arotatably mounted, annular cutter mounting 75 carrying a plurality ofcutter supports 77. The forward end of each of the supports 77 rotatablycarries a plurality of roller cutters 78 which project forwardly of theforward end of the cutter mounting 75. The cutter mounting 75 isrotatably driven by a plurality of electric or hydraulic mtors 80,supported by assembly 74, through driving gears 82 meshing with anannular driven gear 84, carried by the cutter mounting 75. The boreforming assembly 38 is axially movable relative to the support 36 by aplurality of hydraulic motors 86 which each comprise a piston 90,pivotally connected at 71 to casing 74 through part 73, and a cylinder88, pivotally connected to the mounting flange 46 of the support 36. Theextreme outward ones of the cutters 78 are carried by pivotally mountedsupports 77 which are each individually connected by hydraulic motors 92to a mounting flange 94 carried by the cutter mounting 75 such that theyare selectively movable laterally to the axis of the bore formingassembly 38.

The pilot assembly 40 comprises an upper end portion of casing 42 whichprojects forwardly of the cutter assembly 76. The casing 42 is splineconnected to the interior of casing 74 such that the casing 74 isaxially slidable relative to the. casing 42, and the bore formingassembly 38 is consequently axially movable relative to the support 36.The forward end of the casing 42 includes an integral mounting book oreye 97 which, during the operation of the boring apparatus and asillustrated in FIG. 1, is directly connected to the wire rope 22.

A plurality of anchor members 98 are circumferentially carried by thecasing 42 adjacent the for-ward end of the latter. The anchor members 98are adapted to be urged, by an actuating means, outwardly from thecasing 42 into engagement with the walls of the pilot bore 24 to fixedlyanchor the cylindrical tube 96 in the pilot bore 24. This actuatingmeans, more specifically, comprises a hydraulically actuated, piston 100which is slidably disposed within an annular chamber 102 provided withinthe casing 42, and an elongated tube 104 which is rigidly connected tothe piston 100 and which extends axially through the support 36, thebore forming assembly 38, and the casing 42. and includes a forward endadjacent the anchor members 98 carried by the latter. The forward end ofthe elongated tube 104 includes a tapered portion 106 adapted to urgethe anchor members 98 into engagement with the walls of the pilot bore24 upon rearward movement of the elongated tube 104.

The aforedescribed hydraulically operated portions of the boringapparatus 10 are, of course, connected by suitable fluid supply hoses toa source (not shown) of hydraulic fluid and to the control panel 26 suchthat the operator of the boring apparatus 10 may effect their selectiveoperation.

In the operation of the illustrated boring apparatus 10, the pilot bore.24 is first formed with any suitable, conventional drilling apparatus.The forward end of casing 42 of the pilot assembly 40 is connected tothe wire rope 22; and the boring apparatus 10 is suspended (within themine shaft 14) by the wire rope 22 with the casing 42 extending into thepilot bore 24 and the cutters 78 in engagement with the roof of shaft14. The anchor members 98 are actuated to anchor the casing 42 withinthe pilot bore 24; and the support 36, at this time, is positionedwithin the bore 108 of the supporting framework 110, shown in FIG. 4,positioned in the mine shaft 14.

The starting support 110 is in the form of a box having a generallycylindrical interior 108, with circular steps 112, saw tooth incross-section on its inner periphery to receive the support 36 andassembly 38. The lower edges of the pads 54 rest on steps 112 to supportthe thrust of the motors 86, and vertical ribs 114 on the box, engagethe edges of the pads to resist the torque of the motors 80. The

4 mean interior diameter of the steps is chosen near the maximumdiameter to which the pads 54 will extend such that only a modestbursting force is applied to the box.

The box is supported and held in position by jacks 116. Thus positioned,the box serves as an extension of the main bore to be formed. The anchormembers 98 and 54 are. extended and the motors 86 and are operated torotate the cutter assembly and force it forwardly to cut the main bore.When the motors 86 reach the end of their stroke, the motors 80 are shutoif and the anchor member released. The hoist holds the cutter assemblyagainst the face of the main bore, and the motors 86 are reversed tolift the. pads to a higher step 12. The cycling operation is continueduntil the pads are within the main bore 12.

With the entire machine in the main bore, the cycle is similar. Theanchor members 98 are actuated to anchor the pilot assembly 40 in thepilot bore 24; and the anchors 54 are urged by the hydraulic motors 68into engagement with the walls of the main bore. 12. Thereafter, thecutter assembly 76 of the bore forming assembly 38 is rotatably drivenby the motors 80 to extend the length of the main bore 12, the boreforming assembly 38 is again axially moved forwardly from the support 36by the hydraulic motors 86. This operation of the hydraulic 'motors 86,as will be understood, simultaneously exerts a force on the linkagesystems 52 for clamping the anchors 54 in their anchored position.

In this manner, the bore forming assembly 38 axially advances until itattains a position spaced from the support 36 and vertically adjacentthe forward end of the cylindrical tube 96.

At times one side area of the main bore may present more or lessresistance to compression by one pad 54, as compared to the others sothat it moves a lesser or greater distance, outwardly, than the others.This would tend to cock the. machine in the main bore. If desired,sensors, indicated by the button 120, may be placed around the casing42, such that contact by one button on the side of the pilot hole willalert the operator, through a conventional electrical system, that themachine is not properly aligned. The operator may then, through aconventional hydraulic system, operate hydraulic cylinders 118 to movethe part 66 slidable on flange 48 to move the lower pivot point of thelink 64 and hence the maximum distance the pad moves :away from the axisof the machine. By this separate adjustment of the pads 54, the machinecan be aligned.

From the aforegoing, it will be seen that we have provided new andimproved means for accomplishing all of the objects and advantages ofour invention. It will be understood, however, that, although we havehereinbefore specifically illustrated and described only a singleembodiment of our invention, our invention is not limited merely to thissingle embodiment but contemplates other embodiments and variationsemploying the. concepts and teachings of our invention. It will be alsounderstood, moreover, that, although the aforedescribed boring apparatus10 has been illustrated and described as forming a verti' cal bore, itsapplication is not limited to vertical bores, but rather extends to theformation of bores at any angle inclined substantially from thehorizontal.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. An apparatus for forming an inclined main bore rearwardly of asmaller pilot bore, comprising a support provided with anchor meansincluding a plurality of anchoring elements and link means for causingsaid anchoring elements to anchor said support in an inclined main bore,a power driven bore forming assembly forwardly of said support includinga rotatable cutter assembly adapted to form an inclined main bore andaxially movable relative to said support, means for rotatably drivingsaid cutter assembly, a plurality of fluid operated cylinder-and-pistonarrangements for axially moving said bore forming assem bly relative tosaid support and simultaneously exerting a force for clamping saidanchoring elements of said support anchor means in anchored position,said cylinderand-piston arrangements each having one end connected to aelement movable relative to said support and said bore forming assembly,said link means of said anchor means being connected to said movableelement whereby said clamping force is exerted on said anchoringelements through said link means and said movable element, and a pilotassembly projecting forwardly of said bore forming assembly into saidpilot bore in advance of said cutter assembly. 4

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said link means for eachof said anchoring elements includes a first link connected intermediateits ends to a part of said support, a second link connected to saidfirst link adjacent one end thereof and connected to said movableelement, a third link connected to said first link adjacent the otherend thereof, and a fourth link connected to said third link andinterconnecting the latter with its respective anchoring element, saidfourth link also being connected to a part of said support.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein other fluid operatedcylinder-and-piston arrangements are provided for actuating saidanchoring means.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein adjustment means areprovided for varying the maximum distance an actuating element ismovable by said link means from the longitudinal axis of said support.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein means are provided foradjusting the connection of said fourth link to the part of said supportto vary the maximum distance an actuating element is movable from thelongitudinal axis of said support.

6. An apparatus for forming an inclined main bore rearwardly of asmaller pilot bore, comprising a support provided with anchor meansincluding at least one anchoring element and link means for causing saidanchoring element to anchor said support in an inclined main bore, apower driven bore forming assembly forwardly of said support including arotatable cutter assembly adapted to form an inclined main bore andaxially movable relative to said support, means for rotatably drivingsaid cutter assembly, -a fluid operated cylinder-and-piston arrangementfor axially moving said bore forming assembly relative to said supportand simultaneously exerting a force for clamping said anchoring elementof said support anchor means in anchored position, saidcylinder-andpiston arrangement having an end connected to an elementmovable relative to said support and said bore forming assembly, saidlink means being connected to said movable element whereby said clampingforce is exerted on said anchoring element through said link means andsaid movable element, and a pilot assembly projecting forwardly of saidbore forming assembly into said pilot bore in advance of said cutterassembly.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said link means includes afirst link connected to a part of said support, a second link connectedto said first link and also connected to said movable element, a thirdlink connected to said first link, and a fourth link interconnectingsaid third link with said anchoring element.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a second fluidoperated cylinder-and-piston arrangement, said secondcylinder-and-piston arrangement being connected at opposing ends to saidsupport and said movable element for actuating said link means to causeanchoring of said support.

9. In a bore forming apparatus, a support, anchor means including aplurality of anchoring elements and link means connected to said supportand to said anchoring elements for causing said anchoring elements toanchor said support in a bore, a power driven bore forming assembly inadvance of said support and axially movable relative thereto, said boreforming assembly including a rotatable cutter assembly adapted to form abore and being provided with means for rotatably driving said cutterassembly, and a plurality of fluid operated cylinderand-pistonarrangements connected to said bore forming assembly for axially movingsaid bore forming assembly relative to said support while simultaneouslyexerting a force for clamping said anchoring elements of said anchormeans in anchored position, said cylinder-and-piston arrangements beingconnected to said link means for exerting said clamping force on saidanchoring elements through said link means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising means movablerelative to said support and said bore forming assembly, saidcylinder-and-piston arrangements and said link means being connected tosaid movable means whereby said clamping force is exerted therethrough.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a pluralityof second fluid operated cylinder-andpiston arrangements, said secondcylinder-and-piston arrangements being connected to said support andsaid movable means for actuating said link means to cause anchoring ofsaid support.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,295,892 1/ 1967 Winberg et a129931 3,371,727 3/1968 Belousov et al. 17315 6 X 3,399,738 9/1968Haspert 299-31 X 3,418,022 12/ 1968 Peterson 29931 Re. 24,965 4/ 1961Kirkpatrick.

2,637,527 5/1953 Andrews 175-99 X 2,998,964 9/1961 Morlan 17594 X3,109,635 11/1963 Bergmann l384 X 3,282,356 11/1966 Paulson et al. 1033,376,942 4/1968 Van Winkle 175-99 X 3,382,002 5/1968 Tabor 29931 XFOREIGN PATENTS 1,457,753 9/ 1966 France. 1,173,860 7/ 1964 Germany.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner IAN A. CALVERT, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

